Son of Neptune redone
by poloboy209
Summary: Percy is without his memory. Gaia knows this and plans to utilize Percy's fatal flaw in order to end the world. Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

Percy

Percy dived as a feather whizzed past his head. Yes a feather, you didn't read it wrongly. Why would he be scared of a simple feather? That would be because the feathers were razor-sharp and tore through everything. These were a bunch of freaking feather shooting birds.

That feather came so close; he could feel the wind breeze through his black tresses as it narrowly missed him. This was not a good position to be in; he was crouching down between an aisle stacked with microwave popcorn and another piled with sachets of potato chips. All in all, not the best position to be in while fighting psychotic birds. Yeah, birds. Who in the world would give a bunch of birds razor-sharp, dart-like feathers?

A squawk sounded behind him. Percy turned to see one of the birds staring him in the face.

"Woah!" Percy yelled in shock and fell back on his butt.

Lucky for him that he did so because the bird released a flurry of feathers the moment he spun back. He managed to see them in explicit detail as they flew past his head, from their blood-red color to the glinting point that formed the tip of the arrow. They harmlessly pierced through the packaging of a bunch of biscuits, causing crumbs to tumble down.

The bird squawked again at her miss and readied for another shot. Percy yelped and shuffled to his feet running as he went. Sprinting through row after row of consumer goods, Percy looked for something, anything he could use to hinder the bird's pursuit. Without looking, he started to pluck goods off the shelves and flinging them over his back.

Twisting his head back, he saw the birds dodge his last 'weapon': a can of alphabet soup. The can flew through the middle of the three birds causing them to break formation for a moment. The three birds broke apart as the can soared through the air and one of them flew face first into a green exit sign. Seeing this, Percy smirked. The other two, angered by the injury caused to their brethren, redoubled their efforts after Percy.

This was getting irritating, these birds always found him. It didn't matter that he stunk like a skunk after two days of not showering or the fact that he's been sleeping out on park benches. No. Apparently, his demigod scent was so strong that it could mask everything that's been spilled or poured on him. It was a good thing that Percy was a natural athlete; he managed to avoid all their assaults and actually managed to hide from them at periods.

Also, another thing that really annoyed him was this one goth kid that seemed to follow him around everywhere he went. The kid was probably a year or two younger than him and seemed to pop out of the shadows. Everywhere Percy went that kid would surely be watching him. One time when Percy hid in a Starbucks, the kid was there, in his black t-shirt and skinny jeans, coolly sipping an espresso while watching Percy out of the corner of his eye. Then again when Percy was getting ready to rest on a park bench after tumbling several tons of lumber on the birds, the kid was there leaning against one of the trees in the park.

His eerily pale skin made it seem like no matter how much sun he got, he was as close to a tan as he was ever going to get. He also had black hair that, although not oily, looked unruly and gelled. Bones protruded from his skin giving the impression of someone who was malnourished, although he had a fair bit of muscle.

Almost expecting the kid to be around, Percy started to subconsciously look around for him. Then he spotted him, standing at the magazine rack perusing through a copy of Seventeen with Justin something's face was on the cover. The stark contrast between the vibrancy of the magazine and the utter gloom of the kid's clothes was almost comical. Seventeen is not the magazine for goth kids, he concluded.

His legs cried out in exhaustion as he was forced to a stop near the cashiers. The ruffling of feathers behind him informed him that the two and a half birds were still chasing him. Half was because the bird that slammed into the exit sign disintegrated into dust and only half of it had reformed.

_Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die_

That voice…so familiar, was it a memory or some bizarre reason my brain came up with to explain the killer bird that's coming? Sweating profusely, Percy turned, determined to make his final stand against the birds.

"Use your pen!" the goth kid called out, his eyes still on the magazine. He didn't even turn to Percy as he said that, he was apparently too busy browsing through his magazine.

No offence, but a ball point pen did not seem like the best thing to use against a flock of insane arrow-shooting birds. Percy knew there was something strange with his pen. On surface value, it looked like a cheap ball point pen, plastic and brittle. But no matter how many times he'd thrown it away or dropped it, it always found its way back into his pants pocket. Finally, he gave up on throwing it away and just carried it with him wherever he went. For some unknown reason, it comforted him, almost like the pen would protect him.

"What?" Percy exclaimed. He grabbed the pen from his right-side pocket and examined it closely. Yup, nothing changed so far, it was still a regular cheap pen.

"Uncap it!" the strange goth kid yelled. Deciding he had nothing to lose, Percy obeyed. Suddenly his pen expanded and grew into a shimmering bronze sword. For some reason, this transformation did not startle Percy in the least. He looked at the pen as if it were still a regular pen. Although he had to admit the sword seemed to be made for him. Its handle fit the contours of his hand perfectly. Not only that, the blade was neither too long nor too short and it was balanced pristinely.

"Anaklusmos," he whispered. "Whoa where did that come from?" he then wondered.

Deciding that this was not the best time to think about how he knew the sword's name, he focused on the incoming birds. The birds were about the size of vultures and were covered from head to toe in bright red feathers. They looked exactly like over-sized red pigeons except that every so often they would release a flurry of needle-like feathers that would mutilate an unfortunate item.

Twirling the sword in his hands to get a feel of it, Percy got into a defensive stance. The first bird dived head first at him, hoping to run him through with its beak. Percy side-stepped it quickly and swung his blade in a downwards arc at its midriff. The sword made solid contact and the bird disintegrated like its counterpart before, into a sprinkle of dust.

The second and now fully reformed third bird flapped their wings a safe distance away, warily watching Percy.

The dust from the monster that just disintegrated started to gather back together and build up. It looked a little bit like sand coming together to form a bird shape. Not knowing what to do to stop the reforming, Percy did the only logical thing. He started kicking the dust apart to stop it from gathering. Kick, kick, kick, Percy spread the dust as thinly as possible with his legs. Passerbys looked at him with a mixture of contempt and sympathy, as if he was a juvenile delinquent that was taking his rage out on a bunch of dust. Actually that is probably what it looks like to them: a deranged kid killing evil dust bunnies.

Satisfied that he had delayed her rejuvenation, Percy turned back to face the two other birds. They were hovering rather erratically, because of their wings, above a saleslady. Percy almost wanted to yell at her to watch out for exploding bird poop.

The birds were hesitant to strike first seeing what happened to their 'friend' so Percy decided to go on the offensive. Unleashing a less than confident war cry he charged the birds. They went in different directions the moment they saw Percy charging. He swerved to the left aiming for that one first.

The bird squawked and tried to escape by flying away but Percy threw his sword. The sword cried as it sliced through the air before slashing the bird in half. Dust erupted from what used to be a killer bird's body.

Suddenly a noise sounded behind Percy. He turned to find the goth kid standing over a pile of dust with a sleek black sword in hand. Not your everyday goth kid.

"Nice blade." Percy commented, hoping to get some answers.

"Thanks, stygian iron." he replied.

Stygian iron, that sounds familiar. Percy shook his head in an attempt to rid the clouds of confusion welling up in his head. Everything about this kid seemed familiar, almost as if he was someone Percy knew once. A kind of permanent de ja vu.

"What were those things?" Percy asked.

"Ornithes Areioi."

"Birds of Ares…" Percy mumbled. How did he know that; from the sound it sounded Greek? How did he know Greek? Just then a man walked up to Percy; the man had a clean shaven head, wore rimmed shades, dressed in a black leather jacket and had a sneer fixed on his face.

"Didn't appreciate you taking out my birds like that." the man said haughtily. The way he said it seemed like Percy had accidentally killed his pet parrot instead of putting down a couple of lethal birds. Casually he sauntered over to the two boys, tilted his head down and lowered his shades to make eye contact. Immediately, anger stirred within Percy. This guy was going to get what the birds got if he wasn't careful.

"Still a punk huh?" he said staring straight at Percy. "Humph, where you're going… never mind, I just came here to give you a piece of advice: head for Berkeley."

"Er… thanks?" Percy said not too brightly

"Don't thank me, my mom made me do it." As the man said 'mom', an image of an elderly biker chick sprung into Percy's mind. He pictured her from the frizzled white hair to the dentures in her mouth. Not a pretty sight.

"As for you," he started turning to look straight at the goth kid. "My advice for you is to stop poking around." He grunted as if to say that he's finished talking. Then he raised his sunglasses back up, covering his eyes, and disappeared in a flash.

Seeing that man, that sneer, it brought back things, terrible things. Flashes of memory broke to the surface of Percy's mind before faltering and fading back into oblivion. Percy clutched his head in pain, a police car, a shotgun. Crying out in anguish, more and more images kept popping up, a whirlpool, a blonde girl. The stream of memories dried up quickly and Percy was left on his kneels gripping himself with both arms.

"What's your name?" Percy asked the goth kid. His name might provide some clue to Percy's past. Something, anything would be appreciated right now. Anything to anchor him, to keep him from losing what was left of his mind.

"I can't tell you that. But don't worry, we'll see each other again soon enough." With that the goth kid turned to go.

Percy almost cried out wait but realized that the goth kid was nobody to him. And on that topic, who was his family? Weren't they worried about him? Did they even realize that he was gone?

Okay cool down, he told himself. Parents, alright, who were his parents? S something, the name was on the tip of his tongue but somehow it refused to make itself known. Arghhh…what was it?

Pressure built up between his eyebrows and threatened to split his head apart. Violent flashes again appeared. It was as if his memories were fighting to come out, throwing themselves against whatever barrier was hiding them.

Soon the pain subsided and Percy was left with nothing to show for it. Images came and went but nothing stayed. Stumbling through the entrance of the store, harsh sunlight bore down on Percy. Even the gods it seemed were against him.

Berkeley, huh? Not too far from where he was now, maybe a trip there would do some good. The biker obviously thought so. As much as Percy hated to admit it, he had a certain degree of respect, however grudging, for the biker. There was just this aura about him, like someone you don't want to trifle with.

Alright, next stop Berkeley…


	2. The horses whisperers

Percy

So, going to Berkeley was not a good idea. Not only did monster encounters spike but there was also a sense of foreboding about the area. The land itself seemed to be warning him to leave. Mud clung stubbornly to his feet, making each step that much harder; rocks popped up out of nowhere tripping him at every turn and sand got everywhere, in his shirt, shoes and even ahem - other places. If it wasn't for his invulnerability he would probably be colored purple with bruises.

At least the journey was coming to an end soon. By today he'd make it there and then he'd…wing it. Instincts have kept him alive up to now, so why stop trusting them?

Percy stared down the hills. Laid out in front of him was a large town that seemed like it belonged in a movie. The buildings looked old but in a good way with curved roofs and squarish windows, there were many people walking along the sidewalk but not so many that it looked like the streets of a major city. The air smelled clean, free of the acrid car exhaust taste.

So far so good. Percy took his time walking down the slope into the city. What to do now, I'm here already, now what, Percy wondered. He wandered through the streets searching for a sign besides the ones telling him to leave. Where was the goth kid when you needed him?

_Hey boss good to see you again._

Percy stopped and twisted his head in circles trying to discern the source of the voice. The tone of the voice suggested someone cheery but no one seemed to be talking - at least not to him. People walked by without even giving Percy a glance. They stepped past him as if he wasn't even there; in fact none of them seemed to have heard the voice.

Since the voice could only be heard in his head, Percy tried to reply with thought. "Hello?"

_Hey! Long time no see._

Once again looking around himself, Percy found himself outside a pet adoption centre. _ lleBs' ePt Adoptnoi. _Dyslexia can be annoying at times.

"You mean Bell's Pet Adoption." a passerby said. The store looked like a typical pet adoption centre with colorful walls and pictures of sad little kittens and puppies. There was even a large glass panel to watch some of the pets up for adoption. The only thing off about the place was the animals they put up for adoption. Instead of the usual cats and dogs, there were horses and a really sad looking bird-lady thing.

One horse in particular caught his attention, it was jet-black similar to his hair and it looked familiar like an old friend. Just then, a stream of unintelligible chatter filled Percy's mind; a dozen different voices, each complaining or begging for help, drowned out everything else.

"Stop!" Percy mind-yelled.

Instantly, every voice in his head shut up and Percy could hear himself think again. Massaging his temples to rid himself of the chatter induced headache, he entered the store. For the record horse whispering was not a good superpower to have.

The inside of the store smelled like a zoo, not surprising considering the animals they kept here. The horses each turned to face Percy as he passed by them while the bird-lady retreated further from him. She did so carefully and even in the dim light Percy could see nasty cuts on her wings.

"Hey, can I help you?" a man asked. The man was really old; he had a full head of silvery hair, his face was gaunt with bones jutting out and his skin was really pale except for patches of red which looked to be a rash of sorts. He sat in a wheelchair and from the way he was staring into blank space, he was blind.

"Err…I was just browsing." Percy answered, trying to keep his cool as he did so.

"Oh, take your time."

Percy smiled uncomfortably and then realized that the man was blind and could not see the smile anyway. Casually, he walked to and fro the different cages. Each of them held their own sad captive.

"Hey boss any chance you can bust me outta here?" a voice said as he passed the black stallion.

"Do I even know you? And why do you keep calling me boss?" Percy asked mentally as he pretended to inspect the horse's hooves.

_Don't you remember me? I'm Blackjack, remember? We fought that giant flying pig together last year, us, blondie and pig pie._

_Giant flying pig?_ No he'd definitely remember fighting something as crazy as that. "Sorry, I don't remember you."

The black horse whined sadly and clopped his hooves a few times. Percy instantly felt guilty; from the way the horse talked to him they seemed like good friends. "Fine, I'll think of something. Just give me some time."

As he looked around for an idea, he noticed that each horse was only kept in place by shackles clamped to their hooves. The chains were rusty and looked ancient. Subtly, Percy reached into his back pocket for Riptide, a few slashes and these horses should be home free.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." a raspy voice croaked. Percy turned back to find the crippled old man facing him. "Freeing the horses would make my boss very upset."

"You mean Bell?" Percy asked thinking about the store's name.

"I'm Bell!" the man spat angrily.

"Isn't Bell a girl's name?" Percy was getting wary at the man. For a supposed old crippled man, he had a lot of power in his voice. Also getting a second look let Percy see the battle scars the man had. His nose was crooked and had obviously been broken more than once, healed scars decorated his skin and his fingers were bent at several places.

This guy was no pet adoption store worker. "I'm Bell and it's short for Bellerophon, brother."

That's not possible, a brother? "No offense, but I'm pretty sure I don't have a thousand year old brother." Percy uncapped Riptide and gripped its hilt tightly.

The old man let out a throaty chuckle and said, "Riptide, an apt name for the weapon of the son of the sea god." Percy frowned, sea god…dad. A searing pain shot through Percy's head, the force that was withholding his memories was being challenged again. With all the pain, Percy didn't notice the ground sucking him in.

Solid earth seemed to have turned into water and Percy was sinking fast. "Yo, boss! You're sinking like a rock!" Blackjack cried.

Percy tore his hands from his head and looked around. The earth had reached his knees and gurgled hungrily. Panicking, Percy began to stab the ground with his sword creating several shallow craters.

The stabbing didn't seem to do anything to stop the ground; it continued to drag Percy down. "Hah! My boss will be glad to have you. Maybe we can be allies against dad." Bellerophon said haughtily.

No time to worry about the boss now. Percy desperately looked for something to latch onto. Around didn't seem to be anything of use. Percy clawed at the ground in front of him trying to drag himself out of the ground.

Suddenly there was the sound of clinking chains and a hoof plodded down in front of him. Percy dived for the chain before it went out of his reach. Up into his chest now, he pulled the chain with all his strength. The ground resisted greatly, tightening its grip around Percy but little by little Percy managed to escape the grasp of the earth.

Blackjack pulled his hoof back, helping to pull Percy out of the ground. Bellerophon cursed in greek and screamed, "Your plan failed, give me strength so that I may bring you my brother!"

The ground shook slightly and Bellerophon started to glow a dull brown. Percy, who by now was completely pulled out, watched as he stood up from his wheelchair. He took a few shaky steps to balance himself and then pulled a sword out of the ground. Yes, he literally pulled a sword from the ground. The sword was plain, there were no carvings on its hilt, it was a sharpened piece of celestial bronze attached to a handle.

Percy pulled Riptide from the ground and circled Bellerophon. Something felt off but Percy couldn't place it. Bellerophon laughed deeply, the ground appeared to have done a lot more than just giving him back his legs and eyes.

Percy faked a slash and thrust straight for Bellerophon's chest. He parried with his own sword and twirled around. Percy stumbled and barely managed to avoid losing his head. The sword screeched as it sliced through the air and cut an inch long cut on Percy's neck.

Percy touched the spot where the blade cut him and it felt warm and wet. Blood, looks like that mud bath took away his invulnerability. Scanning his body, he found a number of small grazes and cuts from his time in the ground.

Pain, it felt almost foreign. When he was invulnerable, he couldn't feel a thing even in battle. It was like he was numb from head to toe.

"Ha! Is that the best you've got?" Bellerophon teased. "The chimera put up more of a fight."

"Chimera?" Percy prompted, trying to buy some time.

"I am the greatest hero to have lived. I've fought the chimera, tamed Pegasus and fought the amazons."

Deciding on a different approach, Percy swung Riptide at the chain holding Blackjack. Riptide clanged loudly against the rusty chain but it remained intact.

"It's pointless, those are celestial bronze chains." Bellerophon pointed out.

Percy twisted back to face Bellerophon and raised Riptide. In the dim light, Riptide, Bellerophon and his sword glowed gently. Dirt and grime masked the glow of the chains. Percy lunged again, this time aiming for the right thigh. Bellerophon stepped back and swung viciously at Percy's chest.

Back and forth, back and forth they went. Percy kept on the offensive, constantly trying to find a limb to cut at. Bellerophon seemed content to simply defending against Percy's attacks while waiting for opportunities to open.

By the end, Percy had cuts all over his body and was panting heavily. Bellerophon was breathing slightly harder but besides that he was unchanged. This was not going well at all. Fighting a demi-god was nothing like fighting a monster. Monsters were all about offense, they charged at you without much thought. Demi-gods were smart, they played offense and defensive making them much harder to defeat.

Bellerophon laughed deeply, his voice laced with power. "What's the matter Perseus? A little tired? Look at how your gods have deserted you."

"Why do you hate the gods so much anyway?" Percy retorted.

"They wronged me. I was the greatest hero to have existed! I killed hundreds of monsters in their name yet when I asked for the one thing I desired I was denied!"

"What did you ask for?" Percy asked, genuinely curious. From the things the guy said, he did sound like a great hero. What could the gods have denied him?

"I wished to see Olympus! And when I asked for it, they refused me." Bellerophon said starting to immerse into a rant. "The worse thing is when I flew up to see it on Pegasus, Zeus struck me down. I lived my years as a blind cripple because of him!"

That did sound wrong, after all the guy had done and he was refused his one request. Also when Bellerophon said Olympus, an image of a beautiful Grecian city with bronze braziers and grand temples came into Percy's mind. Had he been to Olympus before?

"I'm sorry at what the gods did to you but still-"Percy was cut off by Bellerophon again.

"That wasn't what pushed me over the edge into Gaia's aid. It was after that when I pleaded to father for help, he shunned me." His words were filled with unshed tears and brimmed with sorrow.

Percy let Riptide fall to his side. This broke Bellerophon out of his trance and he eyed Percy warily. A sigh escaped Percy's lips and he capped Riptide transforming it back to a pen. Pocketing the pen, Percy let his head fall.

"What are you doing?" Bellerophon asked.

"I do not have a reason to fight you. You do have a justified reason to dislike the gods." Percy stated emotionlessly.

Bellerophon was unused to agreement and the shock registered on his face. "I am glad that you see things my way."

"But, you still don't have to try and destroy them. Trust me, I know the gods are far from perfect but at least they're getting better." Seeing Bellerophon's skeptical look, Percy continued. "Have you heard of the gods Hebe or Nemesis?"

"No." Bellerophon admitted.

"Well thanks to the scene I caused, now all the minor gods and goddesses will be recognized." Percy beamed proudly, not only did he regain a piece of his memory back but it was a happy one at that. Bellerophon remained silent at Perseus's words, his sword remained poised to strike but he seemed to be undergoing a mental debate with himself.

Percy extended his hand in a friendly offer. This is it, if he takes the hand, we gain a new ally and Gaia loses one of her strongest allies. "Come on, take my hand and we don't have to fight. Show the gods that you are better than them. I swear by the Styx that I'll get the gods to grant your wish, you'll get to see Olympus."

Bellerophon's eyes widened when he heard Percy mention Olympus. It was clearly affecting his decision. His upper row of teeth came out and bit gently on his lower lip. His sword arm shuddered slightly and dropped.

Gingerly, Bellerophon reached for Percy's. As the hands were an inch apart, the ground shook violently. It was like the Earth itself was growling which it probably was since it just lost one of the greatest hero's to have lived.

Immediately, the brown glow surrounding Bellerophon dimmed and died out. Bellerophon collapsed to the ground, his strength sapped by the ground. Percy ran over to help and saw that Bellerophon's eyes had glazed over again and his legs were sickly skinny with varicose veins.

"Go." Bellerophon croaked.

As the Earth continued to rumble, the walls shook and threatened to give out. Cracks spider webbed through the supports and small pieces of the ceiling fell. With a cry, Bellerophon raised his arms and the chains imprisoning the horses dissolved away.

All the horses neighed loudly and trotted on their spots, relishing in their new-found freedom. Blackjack ran to Percy and scooped him up.

"No!" Percy yelled, reaching his arms out to try and pull Bellerophon on.

_Sorry boss, no time._

With Percy struggling on his back, Blackjack ran out of the store. They made it out right on time and the store imploded on their heels.

Percy sat on Blackjack's back in silence. Bellerophon didn't make it out, he never got his wish. Percy failed. "No…" Percy muttered softly.

_You alright boss?_

Percy didn't reply, he couldn't. In the end, he just shook his head slightly. He had just lost a brother and being children of Poseidon, there weren't that many around.

_I'll miss him too, aside from the whole keeping me captive, he was a nice guy._

"And a true son of Poseidon as well." Percy said firmly.

Things were looking down now. Not only was he utterly lost as to where to go, but now he also had to bring a horse with him. The other horses either got caught by falling rubble or made it out of the store and ran off.

What now, he wondered.

_Caldecott Tunnel._

"What?" Percy mentally asked.

_Back when I was captive, I heard him talking about it a lot. He kept speaking to himself about how things were going to get like super bad soon and that two worlds were about to like totally collide._

Deciding it was better than nothing, Percy told Blackjack to get him there. What did he mean when he said two worlds were going to collide?


End file.
